Moonlight
by Piscesean319
Summary: Apparently, a new adversary submerged just when the girls were to begin their dreams-come-true. Meanwhile, Usagi had to take care of her growing feeling towards her who came from Mars. ReixUsagi and slight Makoto/Minako
1. 1- Just Ordinary Girls

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - Just Ordinary Girls**

The images of five young females slightly turned to silhouettes as the sun hovered behind them when they were bidding their farewell to Chiba Mamoru. The man tightened his grip around his suitcase after the announcement of his plane boarding, and he fixed his eyes back on a certain blonde among the quintet.

"Usako, is it really alright?" His voice was gentle.

Usagi nodded as she made her movement in order to be closer to the black-haired man. Tears were on the verge of falling and it was still obvious no matter how hard the girl with the odango hairstyle tried to fight it. "Mamo-chan, I will always be waiting for you. I have said it so many times, that I want you to pursue your dream and make it come true"

"I am leaving now, then" A weak smile was carved on Mamoru's face before he pulled his girlfriend for one last embrace. The hug was short, for soon after that he rested his hands on the blonde's shoulders, and leaned his face forward to capture the girl's lips.

Much to the two lovebirds' dislike, their lips had to part ways. Mamoru took the last opportunity to give his best regard to the other four standing behind Usagi.

"Good luck, Mamoru-san. I believe you will succeed in your study!" Makoto said with confidence gracing her smile.

"It really is a wonderful path to be able to make your dream come true. Good luck, Mamoru-san" The blue-haired Ami spoke up.

"True, and don't you worry about Usagi-chan, Mamoru-san!" Minako made her remark as she slapped the meatball-head's shoulder playfully. The others could hear Usagi muttering something like 'here come the unnecessary speeches from Minako-chan'. "I will make sure Usagi-chan does her study well in college and does not come late to class like she did during high school and I'll ensure she always submits her assignments on time!"

"Uhm, Minako-chan, you also did not even complete your own homework and always came late to sch- Uhmf!" The blonde was forced to muteness as Minako laughed off Usagi's unfinished payback.

"Bottom line, you can entrust Usagi with us" Rei opened her mouth, uttering her first words since a while. "Oh and I will try to make sure Usagi doesn't eat too much so by the time you come back you still find her the way she is"

"Rei-chan! What do you mean by 'the way she is'!? I don't even steal your cookies whenever we study at the jinja anymore!" The so-called 'Moon Princess' pointed her index finger at her raven-haired friend in a childish manner.

"Right, of course you don't! You don't steal cookies now, but you steal biscuits and waffles"

"That was only one time!"

"Sure! One time you steal the biscuits, one time for waffle, another one time for another biscuits with different flavor"

"Rei-chan, you're so-"

"Mean! I know you want to say that"

"No, you're more than mean now! You're evil!"

"Are you calling me a youma, Usagi?"

"Yes! You're more evil than a youma!"

"What did you say!?"

The 'bicker master' couple then threw intense glares at each other which, if left unstopped, would likely continue until the princess' boyfriend reached America in the next couple hours. They should call it lucky that the speaker around the room was turned on once again to inform one final call. Rei soon noticed this and turned her attention for one more time to the guy who would be leaving them soon.

"I mean it this time, Mamoru-san. I will protect Usagi like I have always done" She stated; firmness enveloped both her voice and her amethyst eyes.

Mamoru moved his head, showing his approval. He gave each of them one final look. The five sailor senshis that he knew and had always helped had now graduated from high-school, ready for their next stage of education in college. He had not realized until then, of how much the teenagers had grown up to five young ladies and despite the bickering and juvenile acts they still showed every now and then, they all had indeed matured. Rei's serious sentence seconds ago was the proof of that.

"Bye, Usako" He laid his eyes deeply on Usagi, which was returned with the same amount of love and passion, if not less, by his lover. Odango's sapphire, glistening eyeballs were the last things he saw before he turned and showed his back.

* * *

Sky was playing with earth, as the next day's weather turned out to be the exact opposite of the preceding day. A girl was spotted running albeit the pouring water from heaven and her soaked t-shirt and short pants. She made her way in the quickest pace possible around the streets of Juban district, until Crown café made its appearance right before her.

The automatic door sled aside and welcomed her to the sight of her three besties sitting conveniently on one of the tables. The blonde Minako was the first to wave at her.

"Why the sudden meeting?" Rei took her seat next to Ami; water droplets were falling from her hair. "And Usagi?"

Minako shook her head. She changed the tone of her face and Rei knew that when the aura of the cheerful senshi of Venus had shifted, it usually meant something was off – something awful was on its way to be delivered.

"We don't want Usagi to know… yet" Makoto had the discussion started.

"Mamoru-san has been away for merely one day, so we think it might be best if we let that sink on her for a while, before telling her this" Ami finished what her brunette friend began.

"Telling her this? Telling her what?" Rei looked back and forth at the three of them, but none answered. "Is there a new enemy coming? C'mon you guys know I don't like this feeling of not being on-the-know"

"Rei-chan, we… have to go, sort of" Makoto blushed on her way of explaining; her fingers were scratching her head. "Well, you know, um… Since high-school is finished now, I was thinking that it would be good if I could take the time to… refresh from studying temporarily. You know that I had wanted to go on this long training on the mountain for a long time. I have never really made use of my time there so…"

"What Makoto is saying is that, with all around us being peaceful, we have the chance to make-up for the time we lost to have our dreams come true" Rei had set her questioning look upon Makoto's long speech before genius Ami drew out everything for her.

"So you're saying, Makoto?" The raven-haired senshi gazed at the brunette; her eyes were motioning for Makoto to say the words herself.

"I am planning to continue that training, at least for a year. Most likely it would be less, or I hope so"

"So there's no need for hesitation then? Spill, Minako-chan, Ami-chan" Rei folded her arms; her glare had begun to make the rest of the group gulp. This fire-senshi friend of them was not completely naked to the future, but there was no doubt that she had the best sense of smelling others' intentions; she was a psychic miko, after all.

"I am… taking a scholarship for medical degree in Canada" The blue-haired girl simply put. Pink tints sprinkled her cheeks as her female besties mouthed 'ooo, scholarship' in unison.

"And I" Minako had her eyes closed fleetingly before she stood up, successfully gaining all attention even though she was to show her best pose just yet. "Aino Minako-" She stopped abruptly there, putting one of her arms in the air. "A Japanese idol from Tokyo who is about to bring new waves of love and beauty to the world!"

There was no need to mention that Rei, Ami, and Makoto had sweat-dropped upon her.

"Uhm, Miss, please do not step on the sofa" A waitress, who apparently had been keeping her eyes on them, gently reminded with a hesitant smile.

The blonde senshi looked down on her feet, with one arm still left dangling above her head. It dawned on her that the café staff did not lie, and she soon drowned herself back to her previous position in irritation yet embarrassment, like a ship sinking into the ocean.

"Sometimes I hardly believe you graduated from high-school already" Rei face-palmed.

Minako shrugged it off along with a chuckle. "Says the so-called grown-up miko who still reads mangas"

"Uhm, Minako-chan, you still haven't said where you're going" The water-senshi put them right back on track, to which Makoto was really grateful for.

"Ah, right!" Minako sucked her strawberry juice; delight was decorating her face as she thought about her upcoming dream-come-true. "You remember that I once joined this star audition, right? However, I postponed going to the next stage because we were… fighting Galaxia back then. After considering it, I am taking the offer from that producer to go to the international competition!"

"Right, I remember. That's the one where Yaten-kun was one of the judges, right? So where are they taking you for this and how long?" Makoto's eyes sparkled; she still found it hard to believe that their halted dreams from before were making its way then.

"Well the international competition is taking place in Australia, for about three months"

"Three months? Gee, they are really going all out for it!" The brunette's lips parted in amusement.

"Yes, but if I can prove them, which I will, that I am the best star out there, then they will shoot my very first music video in… Hawaii!"

"Hawaii!?" Surprise came harmoniously to the faces of the other three.

"That's true. I can't wait for my chance to sit elegantly at the beach as the crews have their break. Then, all the hot male dancers will be surrounding me, offering me foods and drinks or even give me a massage! Oh I can't wait for my idol life to begin!" The senshi of love and beauty flipped her long hair exquisitely.

"M- Massage?" Ami whispered as her cheeks blossomed in reddish color.

"Enough with your imagination, Minako-chan!" The annoyed Rei they had seen a few minutes ago was now apparently back. "I don't care if it's Hawaii or not, medical school and training or whatever. How did you guys come to this decision before even bringing this to the table with me and Usagi?"

"Look, Rei-chan, we didn't mean to-"

"I don't care if it's just me!" The amethyst-eyed girl continued, as if not caring that she had halted Makoto's statement of justification. "How did you guys not think of Usagi? She needs us – our strength and shelter! What if… What if a new foe comes and she's the target, again? And you guys just stated your intentions with no sweat, like it's really as easy as that! I am disappointed with this! I-"

Silence filled in after that, as if letting the fire-senshi to gain her tranquility back. Neither of them wanted to put something to the dead air, feeling afraid to involuntarily hurt each other's hearts. Minako gripped her yellow skirt tightly – so tight that she thought her nails might hurt her palms even through the thin fabric.

"I don't know about you guys, but I didn't arrive at this conclusion without hassles in my head from sunrise to sunset and even beyond" The blonde started. Her voice was barely audible. "I knew I was supposed to consult you guys first, and talk to Usagi, since I am her senshi. I am one of her safeguards and I am more than aware that my top priority is to assure her safety…"

The others had been pretending to concentrate on the table when they slowly noticed the unstable voice of the senshi of Venus.

"But I am also a girl, Rei!" She finally broke out. "I am also just an ordinary young adult who is filled with passions and dreams! All these five years I have been with you four, I have tried to put aside everything in order to be able to fully protect the princess. So I thought that… even just for a year… Even just for a minor portion of my life, I wish I could do what I have wanted to do, too!"

Another silence followed, but not for long as the senshi of Jupiter beamed her apologetic, concerned look towards Rei. "Rei-chan, it's not like we will leave our task just like that. If any new adversary happens to occur, then we all will be more than ready to come back. Besides, my training neighborhood is not very far away from the city, so I can come in a flash should anything happen. Ami-chan should be able to come home frequently for a holiday too, shouldn't you, Ami-chan?"

"That's right, Rei-chan. Our communicators should be with us anywhere we go so we will be updated as soon as possible. That is if those youmas do not give us anymore break"

"I- I am sorry, minna" Rei replied her friends' sorry eyes with the same attitude. The remorse in her eyeballs heightened as she noticed the normally-chirpy Minako was still voiceless. "I am sorry, Minako-chan. Frankly speaking, I am just… afraid. You guys cannot deny the fact that I will be the only one left here. And to think that if something bad really arises, and if it revolves around Usagi, I am scared that I am not… strong enough by myself to… protect her"

"Then call us!" Minako came back to life, locking Rei's gaze with hers. "Call us and we will come back no matter what!"

"Minako-chan…" Rei muttered the name. The two then exchanged reassuring smiles as Rei tried to read the blonde's blue eyes. Their minds brought them back to the memories of good four-years worth of battling enemies, of scars and bruises, and of dying and reliving again. "You know what, Minako-chan? After you finish your debut with them, I must be your next song-writer"

Minako's lips turned up upon the remark. Makoto and Ami joined them as the four shared indefinable feelings through their stares and smiles – the pride of the sailor soldiers.

"You know, Rei-chan?" The senshi of love stole Rei's focus again. "It is because of the fact that you are the one staying here with Usagi, that we could make this decision at last"


	2. Chapter 2: Forming Shadow

Author's notes: My thank-yous for you, readers, and especially the ones who have left comments.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Forming Shadow**

The following week's Monday found Rei standing in front of the house of the blonde princess. Her eyes danced from the brown front-door to a certain window of the building's second floor, but her feet remained where they were. Her heart had ushered her this way, although her legs had originally intended to head home soon as their owner finished her graduation rehearsal at TA Girls' Academy.

 _"How's she?" She remembered asking Minako right after her three fellow senshi let their plan out to Usagi._

 _"You know Usagi"_

 _"What do you mean?"_

She rang the bell and a few minutes were what it took for her to get a response from the house's occupant.

"Usagi?" She had imagined her best-friend's blue-haired mother, but blonde hair was the first thing visible.

"Rei-chan?"

"What took you so long?" The raven-haired girl put her hands akimbo.

"I'm sorry, my whole family is out of town"

That made two surprises for Rei that afternoon. Usagi would usually snap back at her, remarking how grumpy she was being just because she had been neglected outside for a matter of minutes.

"What brings you here, Rei-chan?"

"Oh, that, I…" She let her nails scratch her temple. What brought her here, indeed? Was it not the fact that she was worried of the odango? But that fact was not necessarily important to share right then, was it? "It just feels weird to come home this early still in uniform"

That at least pulled a giggle out of Usagi, even though it lasted shortly before the blonde turned around. "Come in then. I think I have some unreturned manga, too"

Rei muttered 'thank you' after the blonde of the two brought in tea. She waited in the bedroom, wasting time by tracing the bunnies-butterfly-bunnies pattern on the cup's surface as Usagi retreated to the kitchen to put the tray back.

"Hey, Rei-chan" Her concentration was broken. "I thought you would ask the others to meet up at Crown instead"

She shrugged. "Minako and Ami are busy packing. It won't be any fun being only with Makoto"

"But it's not like it would be fun staying here either. There's just me"

Rei had somehow refused to answer that, albeit fully knowing what the answer really was. She was concerned about the odango, but again, her own pride had muffled her emotion to complete silence.

"Well I figure that we will run into these situations once they're away, so I thought I might as well train myself to get used to it…" The miko was about to joke about it on ease, but stopped when she saw a slight twitch on her companion's face.

"That's right" Usagi's eyes found her own feet. "Hey, they said the farewell party would be tomorrow"

"Yeah, Minako said so on the communicator right after I woke up this morning, just for the sake of that information"

"I don't like the idea at all" She heard Usagi continue again. "It makes it sound like we're not going to meet each other again…"

"Usagi, what are you-"

"Sorry" The blonde instantly cracked a smile on her face, one which would make any person question its authenticity. "What do you think we should bring, then?"

The question was let hanging in the air by Rei and Usagi took it as a prompt to go on.

"I think Minako-chan would like a swimming suit! We should get her a sexy one so she can put it on when she shoots her music video, and when it comes out on screen we can flaunt in front of everyone that it was from us! For Ami-chan, it would surely be a textbook! I have no idea what textbook, though. Maybe English or France… Ah, I haven't figured out one for Mako-chan…"

"Usagi" The raven-haired girl cut her to that point. The princess let amethyst eyes stare deeply into her own sapphire ones. "Five years and I am not dumb to still let you fake it"

Lost for words, both of them pretended to permit silence, but even silence could not stay long when the blonde's soft sobs shooed it away. Rei sighed.

"I am so happy for them, really" A choked sob briefly took Usagi's breath.

"Usagi" The senshi of fire called her princess' name for the nth time that day, now attending to her side to comfort the shorter girl. She realized the moon princess would not stop sobbing soon, but decided that the girl needed to let it out. Her boyfriend – no, her future king was gone for a master degree, and three of her dearest comrades had to take absence as well. The fact that the girl still had some sort of power to pretend she was okay still amused Rei.

"I can't be like this. I just finished high-school. I am about to enter college for gods' sake. It is wrong for me to still cry over something like this"

"No, it's not" The taller girl said. "You're just grieving. It's very human-like"

"No, you can't say that, Rei-chan. You have to be mean to me. You have to so I can grow up and stop being childish…"

And the girl buried her head in her knees, only showing trembling shoulders. Rei reached out her two arms to envelope those shoulders, but stopped midway before landing her palm to caress her princess' back instead.

* * *

Ami stared at red liquid being poured down into her bordeaux by Makoto. It was in her knowledge that the tallest of the team possessed complete set of cooking utensils in her kitchen, but having a set of wine glasses was new information.

"Thank you" She uttered, noticing how small the volume of her voice was compared to the bombastic one of the karaoke-mode Minako. 'Sailor V' had insisted to bring her mic to Makoto's apartment and attached it to the brunette's music player.

Usagi was waiting for her turn for the next song as she cheered on Minako every now and then. Rei spent her time reading one magazine she had taken from a stack, although Ami doubted her miko friend could have luck concentrating in the midst of the blondes' little concert. There was Makoto, of course, who was then fixing her eyes on the event taking place at her very own living room.

"Is it alright that they're still singing? They may take a while more and your train is leaving at five. That's seven hours from now" The blue-haired girl looked at the blurry image of the number eleven at the clock, feeling herself a bit tipsy from the wine.

"It's alright, I might not see this kind of crowd starting from seven hours and ahead" Makoto gave Ami a chuckle. Her gaze was still on her other three friends, but the look she gave Aino Minako was secretly distinctive.

The self-proclaimed 'Goddess of Love': someone she used to bicker with over a hot-looking lad when they were teens. Either her friends would laugh to tears or think she had fever if they had ever heard her confess the truth – that she thought the blonde's maturing beauty had captivated her. Either way, it was unbelievable to anyone, even to herself sometimes.

Thirty minutes or so had passed when the blondes gave in to the tired muscles of their vocal cords at last. Rei looked around, noticing that Makoto had begun cleaning up the room and Ami was calmly putting back her stuffs to inside her dark-blue baguette. No one said anything. In fact, nothing they had been doing since the party started was touching the goodbyes. Rei sighed.

"Usagi" She sat on the vacant space on the sofa next to the odango. "The gifts"

"Ah, right"

"Minna, I think I should head home now" Ami looked up with a smile.

"Ami-chan, wait" Rei stopped her motion just when she stood up. "Usagi and I… We have something for you all"

Usagi had then proceeded on unpacking a pink box. One by one she drew out what appeared to be sets of keychain. It was only after the odango handed each one to the four that they could see the clay figurines of Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus respectively.

"I have been into clay-modeling lately, eheheh…" A shy grin brushed the princess' face. "I toyed with the idea of gifting each of you with what you favor but… I guess something like this will be a better reminder of… each other. They came out a bit ugly, but they're made with pure love!"

None of them was really paying attention to the odango's subtle justification upon her own creation. Minako's eyes did not move from the figurine, as if scanning the keychain. The bright light of Makoto's apartment allowed her to spot the little-Venus' asymmetric eyebrows, the oversized cheeks which mirrored those of a bee-sting's victim, a slight crack on her mid-section, and last but not least, the disproportionate legs. She did not have to peep to know that the other 'mini-senshi' would have similar flaws. Even so, it was not doubted that the extension of their princess' warmth had found its way into their hearts through the little goodies.

"And here's something from me" The raven-haired miko spent a few seconds raking inside her bag before finally finding four fortune-cookies message bottles. She passed one for each of the three before smiling. "There are about a hundred inside, if I counted it right. It is believed that as you encounter new quests in your life, you have to do one thing that lifts up your spirit each day for a hundred days ahead, so as to prevent relinquishment. That was the idea behind these"

"Wow, R-Rei… Did you seriously make about three hundred in total?" The calculation was a cinch for the brain of the group, who then gasped a little.

"A- Actually Yuuichiro and Grandpa had a hand in this as well" Rei's nails scraped against the base of her dark hair. Nothing of the transparent little jar was necessarily worth a commendation for her or the other two workers of the shrine, and she earnestly hoped none of her best friends would make it sound that impressive because, really, all it had required was taking those good-luck sheets from the temple's stock, rolling them before chunking them into the bottle.

"That's not fair, Rei-chan! You didn't make one for me!" Twin dumpling rolls had popped up somewhere next to her and Rei smelled nagging coming soon.

"Usagi, all you need to do is a short walk to Hikawa and take the papers yourself!" The miko folded her arms.

The moon-princess' expression had sunk into a deep sulk. "Rei-chan you're so-"

"Mean" Rei looked away, but her hand had moved to the contradicting direction, revealing another pink-capped bottle which successfully widened Usagi's pupils. "Of course I would make for everyone, baka! Here take yours!"

"Thank you, Rei-chaan! I knew you wouldn't forget me just like that!"

Makoto chortled upon the sight before her. "I sure would miss your arguments and tongue fights"

"Thank you, Usagi-chan, Rei-chan" Ami had subconsciously enveloped the bicker-master couple with her short arms.

Feeling touched, the brunette did not take long to snuggle between them. "Don't think twice to call us should anything happen"

That left the other blonde, who smiled before joining the group's bear hug. "And don't forget, Usagi-chan. I would call very, very often to check if you wake up for classes and if you don't fall asleep doing your assignments"

"Hey, I will turn off the communicator!" The odango released her arms from the tight embrace between them, slightly ruining their feet's center of gravity.

"Alas, then I will buzz Rei-chan for the report"

"Don't include me in that!" A snarl was the fire-senshi's response, which invited nothing but guffaw from the people who had known her inside-and-out for half a decade.

* * *

A figure was standing tall facing the mirror; auburn, loosened hair combed neatly to the front of her right shoulder. The woman in her mid twenties was in her yellow nightgown. A pair of matching bright orange slippers wrapped the white skin of her feet. One would think the lady was in her perfect form if not for her eyes. The bloated eyes that were moist tainted with red.

Motoki had cheated. Her fiancé had cheated. Such a thing was never surmised to be committed by the good-natured blondish man, not when he was three months away from uttering his vow on the holy altar to her.

"How could you… How could you!?" The torn woman had banged her palms onto the edge of the sink, as if the white, marble object had been her lover and not a static thing. Her wish to cry it out loud came back, but she had spent all her tears on the way home and she felt like no liquid was left.

What more would she sob for, though? For the fact that she had seen Motoki at the back of the café where he worked, passionately putting wet kisses all over the stranger's neck? For the realization that the marriage she had dreamt about had to be put down? And for the faltering smile of her parents when she could finally muster up courage to reveal the truth to them?

Nothing. Nothing was left anymore. She was sure that she had been broken so badly that no one would ever be able to put the pieces of her back together anymore. If anything, the only emotion she felt flooding her heart at that very second was bitterness – the complete mixture of anger, jealousy and all the negativity that her soul could register.

She held her breath for a moment, completely oblivious to a dark blurry shadow then forming in her background.

"That's right" Eerie, almost devilish, tune rang through her ears, and only then did she bother to move her focus from what had occupied her. She looked up, only to find the shade of darkness – the blackest she had ever seen – began towering over her. "All that is left from you is anything but good in this world. Forget whatever is virtuous, whatever is graceful, whatever is amiable, and whatever good for the soul. If anything is abhorrent and loathsome, think about such things"

Oddly enough, she did not run away nor scream. By the time the dark smoke had made contact with her skin, something inside her burst out, subtly, yet strongly, and found an escape from her physic. Her own shadow, which was barely visible under the dim ray of the bathroom, started moving on its own accord. She had lost her consciousness by half; through lidded eyes she witnessed her own shadow resurrect from its still form on the blue-tiled floor. Before she could even pay a more detailed look, her body shut down in its entirety. Another roar of atrocious laughter and its echoes in the room were the last her hearing could pick up.


	3. Chapter 3: Like Never Seen Before

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - Like Never Seen Before**

Honks from cars and motorbikes and their roaring engines, along with the chattering of packs of grown-ups swarming the pavements of Juban all sounded like passing buzzes to a particular blonde-head. Stinging heat of the sun penetrated through her skin layers yet the girl's sapphire orbs did not motion from the cemented track below her. Her brain could have unintentionally recorded the bricks' pattern as her mind wandered off to nothing in particular.

Dressed in her pink strapless t-shirt that revealed her milky-white shoulders, the blonde dragged her way to a certain café in Minato-ku where she had always been a regular customer. Why she bothered to leave her convenient air-conditioned bedroom, she was not sure either. It could be the boredom, or it was probably the solitude of the silence around her.

"Usagi-chan!" One pair of green eyes and rust hair that almost mirrored those of Makoto's welcomed her.

"Hi, Unazuki-chan" The blonde grinned to reply the smile thrown at her from Motoki's younger sibling. She briefly scanned the room and came up with a conclusion that the girl's brother was absent.

"Is it only you? I mean, it's pretty crowded today"

"My brother is off to the hospital" The statement seemed to have pulled the anxiety out on Unazuki's face.

"Motoki-niisan is sick?" Usagi let her fingers partially cover her mouth.

Her question earned a shook from the worker of the café. "Rika-san is"

"She is? What happened?"

"As much as I want to answer you, Usagi-chan, my brother and I are completely clueless as well. Motoki-niisan said he got a call from Rika-san's parents, who frantically informed him that my brother's fiancé was found lying with color draining from her face and totally lost any sign of life"

"My goodness, I am sorry to hear that, Unazuki-chan! How is she now? She is in a better shape, right?"

Her question had triggered the opposite repercussion rather than retrieving bits of hope like what the odango had wanted.

"When we were permitted to see her at last, she was still… nothing different than when her mother had found her, or even declining, I cannot tell. Her heartbeat was there, though faint"

"I will make a visit today. Poor Motoki-niisan having to go through this. Three months from now is their wedding…"

Although not obvious, a dim smile did make its way to Unazuki's face. Usagi was like how Usagi had always been, no matter how old she grew. The depth of her concern regarding those who were dears to her remained unchanged.

"Thank you, Usagi-chan. But I am now honestly doubting that that ever occurring…" The café staff had to pause when she caught a glimpse of another familiar human at Usagi's back. "Rei-chan!"

Perplexed by the sudden utterance of the name of her senshi, the princess directed her eyes to where Unazuki's had fixated on.

"Hi, Unazuki-chan" The fire senshi stood; beaming an elegant smile was her only gesture. "I see that Usagi has been bothering you again"

"Who's bothering who!?" Ignoring the fact that Rei's statement was intended for the other girl, Usagi exploded a snarl.

"In fact, I quite enjoy Usagi's company today, Rei-chan. I've been here alone since the place opened" Unazuki slipped in a chuckle before she paid another appreciative look to the miko. "Where were you from, Rei-chan? You are somehow… in a distinctive appearance today?"

Usagi had not been solely oblivious to the style that her raven-haired friend was in, but Unazuki pinpointing it made her stare secretly fly all over the civilian form of Mars. It was then that she noted that Unazuki's remark was legitimate. The white long-sleeved shirt was enveloping her friend's slim body; her contrasting dark-colored hair effortlessly flowed to decorate it. The black pants did nothing but outlining her perfectly-shaped thighs and calves. There were the crimson kitten-heels, too, which polished the girl's overall height. Her study of the miko had made her cheeks slightly redden and what had ironically made her blind to her own blushing. If this new style of Hino Rei had been an essay, Usagi would put an ending summary that those attributes made Hino Rei look dazzling in her blossoming age.

"I just completed my first day of orientation at Temple" The miko carelessly answered as her hands were busy flipping over the menu page.

"I see your college days have begun! When will yours start, Usagi-chan?"

"Ah, that… I am starting next week" As much as she did not want to be reminded of studying, the moon princess then recalled that she had enrolled in a different college from the fire senshi.

"So you two were in a rather serious discussion when I got here" Rei proceeded on shifting the subject of their talk. "Anything happened?"

Usagi and Unazuki fleetingly shared looks, and Motoki's sister sighed before repeating what she had told the blonde and continuing where she had left off.

* * *

It turned out that not all streets of Juban was packed of joyful chatters in the midst of a pleasant dusk, for one was swarmed by panic yells and agonizing screams.

"Run! Ruuun!" Though sure that his voice was most likely sunk in the ocean of massive, hectic crowds, one stubborn police officer was still seen oscillating his arms here and there, making the best effort to pilot people to safe-and-sound destinations. Which best direction he was trying to show them to go to, he was not convinced either. One thing for sure: these citizens had to flee from the raging devil that was knocking human unconscious. The terrifying part was that, it did that just by a simple matter of deadlocking one's gaze.

Air gulped down all his syllables, however, when the said devil announced its arrival right before his eyes. Upon witnessing the dark form of legs landing and blowing dust to their surrounding, his upper and lower teeth had been pressed altogether so hard they might as well pulverize at that very second. By the time he began assessing the ghastly frame of the shadowy demon, he had let out a low whimper – one too imperceptible for anyone to hear.

Energy had started getting stolen from him, but from a distant he swore he heard a female boldly stating stuffs about punishment from the moon.

* * *

"I can't believe Motoki-kun could do such thing. I mean, at least he doesn't seem to be that kind of guy…"

Usagi had been tailing Rei ever since they made their way out of the hospital, giving permission for the other girl to lead the path. The words that came out from Rei's mouth, however, she had been paying only half of her attention. The other fifty percent went to her own analysis of the situation.

"Usagi!"

Annoyed amethyst eyeballs were what could finally snap her back to her best friend.

"Hmm?"

"Geez, now I am curious of which planet you would drag us to had I not been kind enough to shepherd you!"

"Oh" The princess broke the exchanged looks. "Sorry"

She heard Rei sigh in defeat. She must have looked so lost and troubled to have Rei do that.

"So what is occupying your own little world now?" The fire senshi questioned; her tone was tenderly concerned yet demanding as Rei would be.

And it was usually that tone that cracked Usagi to open up to her. No, Usagi made a mental note; it was more like Rei herself – something about Rei – that had always managed to make her confide in the dark-haired miko.

"Mamo-chan" She admitted naively.

"What happened? You two are just fine, right? Or did you lose contact again?" Fiery eyes of Rei shifted subtly to doubtful ones. "Or did he… hurt you?"

"No!" The princess gave an impromptu shout. "I received his email, three days ago. He is doing fine, and we are fine. It's just… some sort of curiosity passed by my mind"

"And that is…?"

"I am just… really taken aback, I guess. I mean, if Motoki-niisan could do such a thing after declaring his love for Rika-san in front of everyone… Then, it is not totally unimaginable if… if… if Mamo-chan could..."

"Usagi" The miko's expression hardened. "If he ever commits anything of that sort, then I swear I would-"

"I am sorry, I was just talking gibberish" Blue orbs averted Rei. "With the future he and I have, he wouldn't do that, would he?"

Usagi was not sure if any part of her statements had come out weird, but whatever it had been, she seemed to have quieted the fire senshi. The silence that Rei had let to follow after was what pulled the blonde to examine Rei's face, trying to make out what it was that the miko was actually feeling through her hurt expression.

Like a wind taking a sudden turn of direction, the look on Rei's face took a change of behavior. Her eyes expanded in terror and her lips left only a small space in between them. Usagi could barely hear the gasp that she made, but it was there, lasting only a split second.

Rei's finger nails had sunk into her palms when Usagi finally grasped her change of aura. "What is it, Rei-chan?"

"Dark, something very dark" The reply that came out was with a rather quivery voice. The raven-haired girl then ran off like she cared about nothing but where her senses were leading her to.

"Rei-chan, wait!" The blonde made an inner complain as her legs began moving speedily, trying to catch up with her comrade. A rather blurry image of the past perched on her mind. Back then, Rei had done exactly the same when she sensed the youma that Fiore – a being from Mamoru's childhood – had sent. The miko just ran off with the pack of senshi following her from behind.

But this time she wished from the bottom of her heart that it was not youma or any form of evil awaiting them, that Rei was having a mistaken hunch. Forcing her legs to keep up, Usagi was now almost side-by-side with the miko. Buildings by buildings passed until the two young women finally arrived at another turn of the streets. From there, screams were already within the reach of their ears.

Rei had put herself into an abrupt stop, and had this been five years ago, the blonde would not have been able to avoid colliding with her. Thanks to years of being Sailor Moon that most of her body parts had good reflex now, Usagi praised herself. Without time for any discussion, the two had seen with their own eyes a form of dark shadow, standing still before a police officer who was obviously powerless.

Usagi shuddered. This youma was… nothing like she had ever encountered before. This was not that kind of youma who seemed to have appeared from a static object as a result of a daemon egg, having ridiculous figure and all. Nor was it the kind of silly youma who was capable of doing circus or a human turned into absurd monster after losing a star seed. This creature was… was simply human-like, a woman, albeit dark from head to toe and naked. Usagi squinted to focus on its face, but failed to catch any glimpse of the normal color of a human's orbs. It was all just dark, and rather blurry, just like the rest of its body. The thing that had her tremor in great amount, however, was not that.

She could not identify what caused it, but her heart felt heavy, like tons of bad things in the world had weighed upon her. A look to the right revealed a Rei who seemed to be in the same aghast state, although the miko would probably prefer to come out stronger, unlike her.

The two then proceeded on a short escape to the nearest empty space in between the buildings.

"Usagi, transform!"

The blonde nodded, trying with all her might to suppress the horror creeping in her soul.

"Mars crystal power, make up!"

"Moon Eternal, make up!"

Red, fiery lights wrapped Rei's body and the princess let golden ones enveloped herself. Coming out in her eternal form, Sailor Moon threw a momentary look on Mars, who harmoniously mimicked her. Moon silently agreed on revealing herself first.

"Wait a minute there!" She yelled, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Causing disturbance in the middle of a beautiful evening and scaring people to death – what in inexcusable sin! I, Sailor Moon, will not be restless just watching you do that! In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

What she had just spoken, although not the most suitable things to say for a girl about to enter college, would normally manage to earn a puzzled expression of their enemy, or minimally she would succeed on having the evil halt whatever crime they were doing. Moon let a few seconds tick by, thinking that that was what it took for her words to sink in the youma. Mars being silent while standing equally elegant next to her confirmed her decision.

It bothered them, though, when it dawned on them that the youma had not even bothered to flinch to meet their faces even after those few seconds slipped. Sailor Moon tightened her own fists into balls and gritted her teeth.

"Do you even have ears!? I swear I yelled it out loud enough!" She whined.

"Usagi" Mars' voice was as concerned as her look. "Be very careful. She is… very powerful. My senses told me"

Just right after she gave Mars a nod as a reply, a bumping sound gained her attention back to the focus of the fight. The police officer had fallen victim to the shadow as his body dropped backward limply, totally out of energy.

Only then did the youma finally lay eyes on the two females, boring blackness through the windows of their souls. The two scouts had not even discovered the right terms to put that demonic glare into description when the shadow flew like a wind and arrived right in front of them in a blink of an eye. As if intending to startle the two warriors in fuku, the naked evil stilled on its spot, performing nothing though her eyes looked like it was searching for something. And that something was the eyes of Sailor Moon.

The blonde warrior shuddered for the second time that day as her sapphire eyes crossed path with those black ones of the youma. Her trembling muscles were still able to cooperate with her to put on a fighting stance, expecting a hand-to-hand combat with the monster before her. Much to her dismay, however, those muscles soon began losing whatever strength they had had just a few seconds prior. In a jiffy, she started to feel the aches and sores all over her physic. Sailor Moon groaned weakly as she felt the pain begin to creep into her joints. It was not like she was unfamiliar to this occurrence; she had suffered through it so many times before during their encounter with the enemies in the past and she was a hundred percent aware of what was happening to her. The youma was absorbing her energy. What scared her like never before was how it was all done in a flash, without her and Rei being able to attempt evading, without even the slightest physical contact.

"Sailor Moon!" Conscious of what was happening to her princess by that moment, Mars took her first critical action. Her gloved hand bloomed and enraging fire swirled out from inside her palm before the hot element took the form of an arrow and a bow. Like a skilled trooper, Mars stretched her weapon; the sharp projectile was readily aimed at their current adversary.

"Mars Flame Sniper!"

The arrow was freed from its place, transporting like a wind into its target – the youma's chest. The dark shadow quitted her torture for Sailor Moon to turn her head, welcoming the fiery missile about to strike her bosom. As if the weapon had been but a childish toy, the youma took a quick grip on it before it reached her figure, halting its speedy motion; the element of fire seemed to give no damage to her hand. And as if wanting to exult over her might, the youma lifted the projectile above her head before her clasp on it strengthened and crushed it, resulting in the arrow turning to tiny bubbles and fading away.

Mars and Moon gaped in terror, almost simultaneously. They did not have much time to think about it, though, for their devil enemy had then shifted to face Mars, neglecting her previous victim. The youma raised her left arm up in the air for one more time, appearing to be up to something with her point finger. Small, dark sphere was collected on the tip of her pointy nails before it was launched in the form of laser, pregnant with power, along with the raging roar of the youma.

It clicked on Mars that if she did not take leave from her current spot as soon as possible, that black thing would most likely deliver a considerable pain to her flesh. So that was what she did, using a kick on the ground with her stiletto to help her dash out further to somewhere in her right. She paid attention to the newly-created hole on the X where she had stood previously during the process. When she landed once more, the spot had looked like an ugly mole that stained the earth ground. Even from a distance, Moon and Mars could tell that the hole was in such a depth, and the smoke that followed after was another proof of what destructive power the dark ray had brought.

Again, left with no time to even inhale air properly, the fire senshi put herself together as her eyes detected the next movement of the youma. The index finger of the youma had been once again erected, signaling that the same attack was to be repeated. Her prediction was right as another beam was shot towards her, forcing her to jump with all her strength to avoid hole in any of her body members. Not even a second after her red shoes touched the ground, she had to witness yet another set of lasers. With a grunt, she jolted to fly again to her right. Her violet eyes found way in between her dark bangs to see more and more of the same dark rays coming forth.

Sailor Moon had been watching, almost pessimistically, how the intimidating youma had slowly but surely pushed her best friend with the attacks, to the point where Mars was almost running out of breath. It was not like she was not trying to find a way to help; she had regained some of the energy that left her body earlier, but no matter from what angle she examined it, the devil looked almost invincible with no weak point. If only Mercury had been here, she thought. That genius would have scanned the youma with her little gadget to work out its fragile part for them to shoot at.

No, she could not rely on her comrades' power for the rest of her life. Those senshi might be her protectors, but they were having whatever short amount of time they could obtain to enjoy their ordinary life and the princess had no heart to take it away. Besides, Mercury was not there at that very moment, so she felt she might as well quit complaining and start racking her own brain.

She should attempt her most powerful attack. Yeah, that would work. That had always worked with the preceding enemy. She glared towards the youma before taking out her pink-and-white rod and spinning it elegantly with her hands. The stick stopped motioning in her firm palms and started glowing in pink, blinding light.

"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"

The center of the rod radiated brightly as Moon released its hidden power. The pink rays made their ways to the targeted youma and illuminated its body. Still not hearing agonizing scream, Sailor Moon stood solid, deciding to prolong the attack for a while more. Her eyes were fixated on the scene before her and she waited impatiently for any sign of the youma's defeat.

"Sailor Moon! Watch out!"

Mars' voice coming from somewhere around her north-east was what made her flinch from her frozen pose.

"Your back!"

Mars had shouted again, this time making her turn a-hundred-and-eighty. The sight that welcomed her, however, was an unpleasant one. The devil had been several meters behind her and she noticed that it had evaded her attack, for its physic was free from any burns or cuts. How the youma had succeeded on doing so was out of her reasoning, and for that moment, that was not really the question to dwell on.

She had to focus instead on how to avoid the forming dark sphere that, in a matter of seconds, she knew would change into a deadly beam. Unfortunately for her, though, she seemed to be running out of time. The said beam had darted towards her, reaching to rip out her soul. Her pupils widened in fright as her brain made a late instruction for her to move. Her eyelids closed when she knew it was too late; she mentally scolded herself.

She waited for a painful sensation to bore a hole into her flesh, but when she did hear a yelp, it was not her own. By the time she lost her balance she grasped that a pair of hands had strongly pushed her and a few seconds later, the rough surface of the street scratching her skin let her know that she had crashed onto the ground. Traumatizing images flashed involuntarily in her mind and she did not want to get familiarized with it, but she could not help it. That yelp – it was the high-pitched outcry that came out when someone had protected her from Galaxia's attack. Even without her vision, she knew that that same person was the one currently landing on top of her; their bodies pressed together. That someone was once again Mars.

Eyelids opened and she saw blood.


	4. Chapter 4: Shield

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

Chapter 4 - Shield

Sailor Moon was on the ground, her mouth agape, when the first thing she saw was blood on skin. She then traced its flow with her eyes, trying to figure out where it had oozed from. The body on top of her wiggled weakly as she continued tracing.

"Sailor Moon, are you okay?"

Mars' voice had turned rather hoarse, but still managed to make the blonde princess stop staring at the blood line and to look at her. Moon discovered Mars' adamant expression, and she hoped it was a sign that the dark-haired senshi was okay, or at least, not badly wounded. She nodded to confirm her answer.

Mars then made effort to get up, using her hand to push her weight and her toes to get back to the ground. When she was finally able to stand on her two feet once more, she winced painfully, forcing her uninjured hand to touch the hurt one. She pressed her palm onto the cause of her pain, which was somewhere on her right upper-arm, as if she wished by doing that she could stop the throbbing sensation. Her action had given Sailor Moon the clue as to where the source of the red liquid had been.

"Mars, you're bleeding!" The blonde said, almost yelling.

That made Mars let go of her pressed hand on the injury, revealing to their sight a horrifying, deep cut. Sailor Moon was no doctor, and she had always scored pretty low on Biology, but even with her limited knowledge she knew the cut must have penetrated certain layers of her fire-senshi's skin. She was certain of that when she saw her friend's soft pinkish flesh inside the opening wound. Blood had once again erupted and flooded her lower arm. The lips of Sailor Moon had quivered upon the sight. Had Mars failed to shove her away or failed to dodge the dark laser even just by a few centimeters, one of them, or both, could have succumbed to an early death.

Mars' face, however, appeared to lose none of its tough essence. Instead, she then gave Moon a serious stare. "We should combine our power!"

"Right!"

The youma had resumed its attacks and the two senshi both rolled as quickly as they could to their left.

"She attacks really fast, so don't go far away from me" Mars whispered when their shoulders met back to back.

"Why?" Sailor Moon readied her legs, knowing that she should put them into good use that day. "Wouldn't it be better if we attack from different angles? To startle her?"

"No!" Mars snarled immediately. "Because… because… We need to discuss our strategy without her listening!"

The blonde had rolled her eyes upon that. "But she seemed to have no ears, Rei-chan"

Another shot flew towards them before Rei could speak up and the two had to dash out again.

"Whatever! I don't care if she listens or not but don't stay away from me! Got it!?" Sailor Mars boldly continued, and soon Moon knew that whenever Rei wanted something certain way, then certain way it would be.

"Got it"

So that was what she did – following Mars' command, although performing it was not as effortless as mentioning it as she kept up with her comrade's pace. No, evading flashing sets of beams which you knew could annihilate your existence in one shot was not an easy task in the first place, even for a sailor guardian; Sailor Moon thought as she jumped for the nth time together with Mars that day.

"We should attempt our attacks once more" The fire-senshi's whisper almost sounded like a breeze in her ears; her mind has gotten exhausted juggling between dodging and landing safely.

"But how?"

"Shit!" Mars cursed when another lightning charged towards them.

The blonde senshi was up in the air, mimicking Rei's rapid movement, when she heard her best-friend's yell. "Sailor Moon! To inside the building!"

By the time Moon shouted an 'alright' to her, Mars had come across an unclosed window from the second level of the said building. With their senshi ability, jumping and entering the construction became sort of a walk in the park. Sort of, because the odango's fingers still slipped just right after she took a grip on the window's frame and would plummet to the ground if not for the fire-senshi's assistance.

A brief overlook confirmed the princess that they had stepped inside a department store, and although all the fancy, costly stuffs displayed were mostly still in tact and the lights were still on, the place seemed to have lost its lively atmosphere. The opportunity to check on any remaining humans, however, had to slip when Mars turned around to face the window once more and picked up the sight of their enemy flying a few meters before the frame; the demonic eyes were obviously trying to spot the youma's two fleeing targets. The sailor in red fuku had to grab Moon's hand, forcing her to duck along.

"Let's crawl, quietly"

"But, where to?" Moon replied, trying to make her volume as low as that of Mars.

She saw amethyst eyes motioning from left to right and she waited rather in impatience, like a princess expecting reports from her scouting warrior.

"We could use those mannequins as covers" The raven-haired girl met Moon's stare. "Usagi, hide. Hide until you hear me shout my attack. When I do, launch your own so we can corner her with our combined powers. Don't come out until you hear my attack, do you understand?"

"Y- Yes"

"Alright, let's get moving" Screeches could be heard as the fire-senshi's knees made harsh contact with the tiled floor. "Usagi, remember. Whatever happens, do not come out until the right moment"

The blonde swallowed her saliva. It was hard to describe how commanding Mars' scowl and tone had been, and she wondered if the owner of those eyes and voice actually realized that too. The instruction given to her was affirmed by a nod, although in her heart she knew she did not fully agree to the deal. If something happened to Mars, if it had something to do with Mars getting hurt to protect her like what she had witnessed over and over again, she knew she could not just 'not come out until the right moment'.

After seeing her comrade's figure slowly distancing to the left side of the huge room, Sailor Moon commenced on starting her own journey to one of the mannequins on her right. She was disrupted once by a sudden loud noise that sounded like metals crashing to the ground, and after she stopped to make sure that it had nothing to do with harming her friend, she continued and the rest of the trip was safe.

The colorless mannequin in the form of a slim female body was her companion for the next few minutes and, despite being obviously dead and steady as a rock, managed to act as her covert as she rested her back there. Half an hour was probably all that had passed since she first met the unwelcomed intruder to her and Rei's halcyon life yet she felt sores all over her body – legs specifically.

She let those few minutes she had with the lifeless statue to be her resting moment, though her heart did not stop reminding her of all the bad possibilities that could happen to Sailor Mars while she herself was in a tranquilizing state here. She thought about it then. Mars had been clamorous and protective that day, to a great amount. And no, she was not talking about the act herself, for Mars had always been like the untamed fire that she was. She was talking about the look of Mars' eyes and the tone of her voice. It was almost like she could not say no to any of the fire-senshi's commands that afternoon. It was as if Mars could die if she ever did. Of course, back again, she would rebel anyway if it meant saving the raven-haired girl from any form of painful sacrifice.

Sailor Moon's eyes were in total alert for one more time when angry, evil roar accompanied by the sound of something breaking onto the ground reached her ears. She stood up and was about to reveal herself from behind her current curtain, but held back when she recalled Mars' instruction. Curiosity was what pulled her to peeking over the scene as secretively as possible.

From the little sight she could obtain through the corner of her eyes, it looked like their enemy had found out Mars' hideout, and they were facing each other on eye level, ready for another affray. Soon, the devil had lifted her hand up in the air again, and Sailor Moon knew what it meant. Much to the princess' shock and anxiety, however, Sailor Mars did not look like she was prepared to flee. Instead, the fire soldier had once again released her fiery bow to come into hands.

The dark sphere was shot and the blonde could not resist breaking out from her hiding. She commanded her legs to bring her to the battle scene as Mars stood motionless, appearing to hopelessly receive the strike on her body as the ray came closer and closer to hit her hard. Before arriving, however, Moon witnessed Sailor Mars dropped herself to the ground, just when the beam was a few inches away from her stomach, which made her successfully avoid the attack with her weapon still burning in her hold.

Silently but wildly, Mars casted loose her fire arrow for the second time that day. The effectiveness of that attack, however, the princess doubted would be high, for she had seen how the youma had exterminated her comrade's attack with probably only a half of its full power. And she was proven right, when the said monster had once again halted the arrow's full-speed motion with one hand and destroyed it effortlessly.

"Mars Flame Sniper!"

Sailor Mars' fiery bow had made its appearance once more before Moon had even determined on what to do next. Her brain was still processing why and how the fire senshi launched her attacks two times in a row, but her memory had thankfully reminded her of her friend's briefing from minutes ago – that she was supposed to shoot her attack at the same time as Mars', which meant, right at that very second.

Her stunned face changed to austere one as the holy rod returned quickly to her hold. She glowered at the youma, transferring with it all her resentment and wish for the evil spirit to be gone and to not ever reappear.

"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"

Her own pink bright rays had flashed and illuminated almost her entire surrounding, and Sailor Moon had to look cross-eyed through her own attack to be able to check if this last effort Mars and she attempted had in fact inflicted any damage to their enemy. In the midst of blinding lights she spotted the youma, turning her head back in shock, with Mars' flame sniper in her strong grip. A few seconds later she could faintly see the monster's figure slowly distort in every direction and lose its humanly shape. Standing still to prolong her attack as far as she could to push the evil being to total extinction, Sailor Moon waited until she was convinced that the youma was no more.

After what it seemed like long rather than short minutes for her, the blurry image had taken the form of what it seemed like a human's shadow; although she had no clue of whose it was, for all she could see was a black silhouette. The blurry image then fell limply to the ground before moving like a wind like something had dragged it away from their sight; its motion was in such a speed that the two senshi could not even follow where it had flown away. One thing that both Mars and Moon were certain of was, their plan had succeeded and they were safe for now.

"Mars! We did it!" The blonde princess had yelled triumphantly without noticing the fire-senshi's sudden stoic expression, and it took her seconds to do so. "Mars?"

"S- Sailor Moon, the youma…" The raven-haired scout muttered.

"What? What of the youma?"

"I saw it… and I just realized it… right before I shot the last arrow towards her. I know that face"

"What do you mean, Mars? Who is she?"

Sailor Mars finally welcomed the odango's curious eyes. "Rika-san"

Moon's palm met her lips while fear mixed with terror was born in her eyes. "It can't be!"

"I wish I was mistaken, too" Mars looked away, as if she was paying attention to the broken mannequins that had scattered around them. "The youma's figure was pure darkness, even her face. But when I was concentrating on targeting her, the features – the eyes, the nose, and the mouth, they all resembled Rika-san's"

"Does that mean…" Sailor Moon had wished her lips to pull up upon their victory, just as they always did in the previous times after fighting a good fight with a terrible youma, but this time those lips had to pull down instead. "Does that mean we have… killed… her?"

"We can't have done so! I mean… she is – she was still in the hospital before we left…" Mars' amethyst eyes had crossed path with the princess' blue ones. "Let's detransform and go to the hospital once more"

Not wanting to attract attention by exiting the building through jumping out of the window, the civilian forms of Mars and Moon departed through the main gate. Usagi had once again let Rei be ahead of her, either because she was too tired already to keep up with Rei's pace, or Rei had once again been quicker than her. As soon as the street lights assisted her vision, though, she did not fail to catch the sight of the miko's horrible wound, and she put herself into an immediate stop when she remembered how deep of a cut her friend had suffered.

"Rei-chan, your arm!"

The raven-haired girl simply reacted to the call by turning her head back, but when she saw that the blonde had halted her steps, she held back her legs from moving again as well.

"It's not that bad" The miko answered while Usagi came closer to her; her sapphire eyes did not flinch at all from the injury.

"How is it 'not that bad'?" The odango put a gentle touch on the area a few inches from the cut, which resulted in Rei's wincing and trembling. "I can even see your salmon flesh!"

"But Usagi, we need to head to Rika-san first. I will be fine"

"That's true, but what if the wound is actually poisonous? I am worried about Rika-san too, that's true, but I can't just let my best friend run all the way bearing a painful injury, right?"

"Usagi, I said I would be-"

"Let's at least stop the bleeding" Knowing how stubborn Rei could be, the odango quickly cut her friend's argument, and grabbed her injured arm. How she would actually complete the task, though, she had no idea. She secretly prayed if Mercury could transfer all the knowledge to her brain from such a distance, even for mere sixty seconds.

She continued after a sudden light-bulb moment struck her. Her hand had inserted her short-pants' pocket and roamed there before pulling out an ivory-colored handkerchief. She thanked herself for bringing it that particular day, with the intention of wiping her face if she happened to sweat a lot that afternoon.

She had to meet Rei's rather-hesitant stare before she rolled up Rei's long white sleeve, and soon the deep cut was uncovered to their naked eyes. The white clothing in Usagi's hands then was lingered carefully several times around Rei's arm, and both girls were quiet during the treatment. The odango had put almost all of her concentration on securing the handkerchief tightly to stop the blood flow, and when she looked up for a split second she spotted Rei looking at her. The miko's expression was hard to read for her, however, for it was full of tenderness that was tainted with sorrow. When she recalled that they were in rather a rush, she tried focusing once more on finishing her first-aid medication, but the horrifying appearance of Rei's pinkish flesh was once again visible to her, and her heart felt terrible pain.

Albeit aware that they had to go on with their trip to the hospital, Usagi could not help but to pay another worried, sad look to her best friend. She had to say it right then. Otherwise she would get frustrated after all the despairing memories of the past flooded her mind. The aching memory of Mars' death – of Mars fading away in her very arms had crept on her, and it scared her to death just by thinking the possibility of the history repeating itself. She had never said it out loud to anyone, even to Rei, about how bad that memory had affected her.

"Rei-chan, thank you"

"For what?"

"For saving me"

"That's not really something we have to tell each other again, is it?" Rei threw her gaze away to the long, dim road that awaited them ahead. "You know that I… We will always protect you"

"No, thank you, really!" Usagi's tone had turned more of an insisting one, and that seemed to have regained Rei's stare at her. "You have constantly protected me… All of you have, but you have made yourself like a literal shield, always throwing yourself before me to shelter me and carried with you all the inflictions that were supposed to be mine, for so many moments"

Her statements had delivered temporary quiescence, before Rei raised a smirk. "Since when did you get so poetic? I guess taking art as a major is not really that bad of a decision for you, Usagi"

"I'm serious, Rei!" Sapphire eyes had begun glooming. "I beg you. Do not do it again, please? You know I cannot just let you get hurt over and over again for my sake. Do not, Rei. Do not die, again"

"Baka, I will not die" The raven-haired girl drew near to her, to where she was standing right under the shower of the sodium streetlight. The glimmer let her see the purple shade of Rei's strands. She saw the miko's arms heading towards her shoulder, but seconds later the said arms had rerouted back to their previous position. The tears that had started pooling in her eyes must have distracted her, and the next thing she knew was that Rei had put one hand on her head instead, patting her. A pair of amethyst eyes locked her gaze. "Not until I make sure you will live on. But, well, I could accidentally die on the way there…"

"No!" The blonde princess wiped away one falling tear while frowning deeper, angry that her fire-senshi still had time and a thought to let a joke slip at a moment like this. "Accidentally or no, real or fake death, you cannot die again, Rei-chan!"

"I know, I know" The miko had replied her serious setback with a light laughter. "Let's go now. We still have Rika-san to make sure about"

Usagi's upper teeth had slightly bit her lower lips; she was pissed off that she still did not manage to make Rei promise what she had wished her to. Seeing her best friend had started stepping again, she followed along, hoping that the miko was not actually oblivious that she was being dead serious about what she had just said.


	5. Chapter 5: A Talk

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - A Talk**

Normally, Usagi would discover her raven-haired friend in the front yard of her shrine; her hands would diligently be moving the broom to sweep the fallen leaves on the ground. That was not the case that afternoon, however, but the blonde did not really wonder why. Her feline cat must have been ahead of her and been occupying Rei's room to talk with the miko. That was also why she was there that moment – to have the regular team discussion about their new adversary, although this time the meeting was attended by only two senshi. They had to hold off the talk for a few days, though, since Rei was occupied with her college schedule.

"Rei-chan" Innocent smile naturally formed on Usagi's face as she sled the door of the shrine's guest room.

"You're lucky that I am not your lecturer in your soon-to-be university, Usagi" The miko folded her arms while Luna did nothing but staring at her.

"Gomen, gomen. I was writing to Mamo-chan and was not looking at the time" As if it was her habit when feeling guilty, the odango scratched her head. The empty seat opposite Rei's was where she headed to next and placed herself.

"Oh" Rei's tone sounded rather faltering to Usagi's ears. "So has Mamoru known about this new enemy?"

"That… No. I am afraid that if I tell him, he will get distracted. He will want to return and I will fail his study" The princess averted Rei's eyes. She did miss Mamoru though, truthfully speaking. She was longing for him to be by her side, coming to her rescue in his Tuxedo Mask form and keeping her safe; the feeling had grown worse ever since the youma made its appearance. "Besides, we don't know yet if it is indeed a new enemy. We have just encountered one youma so far"

"…That's right. All we know is that Rika-san has come back to life after we defeat that monster"

"And the fact that the youma had a resemblance of Rika-san" Luna added. Her white-furred friend would have commented something as well had he been here, but Minako had carried him along with her.

"She was awfully strong, too" Rei's eyebrows puckered. "And apparently was also as hard as nails"

"Rei-chan, how's your wound?" The blonde asked; the tone of worry could not be hidden in her voice.

"Apart from the aching on it whenever I take a shower, it's all fine. Being a senshi helps so much" The miko smiled at her, as if she could read Usagi's concerned heart. "We should call Minako and the others by the way, to let them know of the current situation"

"No!" Usagi responded right away, which gained her not only Rei's but also Luna's stare. "I think we shouldn't tell them... They have a dream to live life normally, too. And we… I shouldn't take it away from them"

"Usagi-chan, this is a very strong foe we are talking about!" Luna answered ahead of Rei, with the voice that she always used to scold Usagi when the blonde had just become Sailor Moon years ago.

"Usagi, you witness yourself the youma's speed and attacks. If a stronger one comes and our combined powers are not even enough to defeat it, it will be too dangerous!" Rei appended, with a tone even stronger than that of the cat.

The princess had once again avoided those amethyst eyes. Whenever it came to an argument like this, she knew Rei had always won. She knew Rei would always win with her stubbornness. But she also knew that Rei had a soft spot out of her kind-hearted nature that would make her bend. Anyone who had known the miko inside and out would acknowledge that. She just required the firmness to lure out that side of Rei.

"The fact is that no stronger youma has revealed itself so far, right?" She spoke up. "I promise that if things get worse, I will agree on calling them. But we have no proof of that one youma being a part of bigger enemies. It could just be a random evil spirit"

"So you mean we have to wait until the situation is dire enough?" The raven-haired girl asked cynically. Her arms had folded across her chest.

"I did not say that. All I'm saying is that we have just fought against one so far. We have no idea of where it came from. If it turns out that the youma was nothing but an incident, won't it be a waste of time and energy to call them?" Usagi's tender eyes had deadlocked Rei's fiery ones. "Please, Luna, Rei-chan. I can protect myself. I promise I won't put myself in danger. You are all my best friends, and I can always count on you to help me, and to protect me. But Minako's life, Mako-chan's, Ami-chan's, and yours, Rei-chan, are just as valuable as mine. I also want to protect their lives and your life, as much as you all want to protect mine"

"Usagi-"

"Let's just see the situation and wait for a moment, should we?" The blonde went on, not even allowing the other girl to have a say. Plead was carried along with the gaze she threw at Rei. "Please, Rei-chan?"

"Usagi-chan…" The dark-furred cat had shifted her tensed look to a worried one.

The miko and the feline seemed to speak no more, and Usagi took it as a sign that a conclusion had been drawn – they would not inform the other senshi for the time being. The doubt that existed on Rei's and Luna's face was what saddened the princess.

"Do I still look really that undependable to take care of myself, Rei-chan?" She muttered.

"Huh?" Rei had let go of her folded arms.

"Do I still look like a weak princess who still needs people to babysit her?"

"U- Usagi, I never said that" Rei said her syllables carefully before taking the effort to move to Usagi's side. "Look, all I'm saying is that this new opponent seems to be ruthlessly destructive. If the two of us are not able to stop it then who knows what the youma can do to us… and to our world. I just thought that the more power we have, the readier we are to face them"

"I'm sorry too, I was being too sensitive" Usagi embraced Rei's worried look with a fragile smile, hoping that it would be a pretty good deceptive look to cover up her true feeling – that she was afraid what Rei stated would befall. It did not seem to convince Rei, though, as the miko kept staring at her for the seconds afterwards.

She heard Rei exhale heavily and saw her tensed expression dissolve slowly, changing to a tender one. "Let's end this serious talk here now. I am planning to do some shopping for my college stuffs after this. Do you want to join, Usagi?"

Usagi's lips had turned up, although faintly, upon the invitation. She was glad, partly because Rei had put an end to this talk that she had preferred to not think about, and partly because it had been a while since she did this – shopping, with Rei. The miko had been busy with her university lessons while hers had not yet begun. Visiting Crown and practicing drawing had been her daily routine lately, and she had been feeling lonely with the absence of her boyfriend and the other senshi. Any moment she could spend with Rei had become rather precious.

"Yes, I would love to. Just wait a moment. I have to use the bathroom first"

With that, she reached the door and disappeared behind it, leaving her friend and her pet without words. Luna's eyes were nailed on the door for a few seconds, as if her owner was still within her sight.

"Do you think it will really be fine if we don't reveal the truth to the others?" Luna asked; her crimson eyes did not even bother to find Rei.

"It has to be" The miko apparently was not looking at the cat either. "I will protect her with all I could"

Luna then stated as soon as the three were outside Hikawa, that she chose to return to the Tsukino residence for doing further research about their new enemy, although Usagi knew the dark-furred feline would just do that for a short amount of time and fell asleep the next minute. That cat, Usagi thought, used to scold and lecture her for not being serious but she was similar to her owner in some aspects, such as this one.

The princess was following Rei as the raven-haired girl led her to a new department store in the area silently until she noticed what Rei had put on that day. This had been the second time she saw the change in Rei's style, or should she say, the upgrade of Rei's style. The miko was in her white shirt and dark blue jeans that had become a perfect match. It was not until Rei was one step ahead of her that she could spot the maroon-colored bra that was visible due to the see-through clothing. Rei went on walking in her white sneakers while she stopped, only to find herself blush.

Was this one of the effects of college? She mentally wondered. She remembered she was stunned seeing Haruka and Michiru for the first time when the two outers were still in university. So was it the same thing that caused her to look at Rei in a new light?

"Usagi?" She had apparently been too indulged with her own thought to not see the miko stop. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh? N- No"

"Why were you staring at me like that?"

The blonde's brain was then busy finding excuses, but her legs had hesitantly continued moving. "I- I… was just thinking if college has been fun for you"

"Uhm…" The miko's point finger touched her chin. "Well it has. I met a lot of new friends and many of them actually came from different countries. It's fun to know outside's culture and thoughts"

"Really? So have you found some cute guys? I bet you have" Usagi laughed naughtily, trying to cover it with her hand.

"I have, indeed"

"Seriously? So have you dated any of them? Or asked them out for a date?" The princess inquired. Her elbow had exaggeratingly poked Rei's.

"I… I am not… interested in any of them" Rei threw away her gaze at the wall of the house they were passing by.

"You just don't want to betray Yuuichiro, do you, Rei-chan?"

"I don't have any feelings for Yuuichiro, Usagi"

"There is no need to be so shy in front of me, Rei-chan"

"I really feel nothing for him, Usagi"

"Fine, the more you refuse to admit it, the more I know it's true"

"Usagi, I seriously do not love Yuuichiro or any other guy right now because I-" The raven-haired girl grunted in frustration, quickening her walking pace. "Whatever. Let's get going now or we'll head home late"

* * *

Minako's reddish, puffy eyes had once again moved to the direction of the clock. It was one hour before midnight already yet there she was, being so far from sleeping while her mentor proceeded on the next section of her lecture about 'Graceful Idol'.

After the lecturer closed their lesson with some 'graceful quotes' and released the contestants at last, which took about thirty minutes later, she dragged her steps to where her room was located. Opening the door that had the tag of her name on it, she found Artemis curling on the top of her blanket. The sound of the door that she closed rather abruptly awoke the white animal.

"You're finally finished" was what Artemis said to welcome her.

"Yes" She glared at him. "And you were sleeping while I was being tormented there"

Artemis gulped. "A- Anyway, Makoto called earlier on the communicator and was looking for you"

"Makoto?" The blonde seemed surprised. "Did anything bad happen?"

"Doesn't seem to be the case. She just wanted to talk to you, and I told her your schedule"

The blonde looked to be lost in her thought, although not for too long, for soon after that she grabbed the communicator that Artemis had left still on her desk. She snatched open the screen and stared on it like she was watching her own reflection, waiting for the device to connect her to the senshi of thunder. She was taken aback when Makoto's face popped out before her much faster than she thought.

"Minako-chan? You're still up?" The brunette was already wrapped in her light-green pajama, and had untied her hair.

"Why, I was just done with my schedule" Minako did not even bother to hide her exhausted expression. "I feel like I am being quarantined for a beauty pageant contest instead!"

"Why? You do practice singing and stuffs right?"

"Yes, but can you imagine? I have to wake up really early in the morning, well-dressed and full make-up! And when I eat I am expected to not make any sound, and talk to fellow contestants slowly it almost makes me whisper instead. And there's walking! I have to step like I am avoiding holes on every tile that I pass by and keep my focus straight ahead at all times! What if a youma actually attacks me when I am doing that?"

The long blabber that came out of the blonde's mouth earned her a short, but genuine giggle from the other girl. "Isn't that what you are going to do though, if you really become the chosen one later?"

"I know right…" Minako had rested herself on the bed, pouting. "This is what I chose to do, though… It was just the process to get there that deviates from what I had imagined before"

"…You are not giving up, right?"

"Of course not! I know that I am going to reap the results of this long, hard work someday later. Aino Minako will never surrender!"

"Good, that's the Venus I know" Makoto beamed a smile.

"What about you, Mako-chan? Why are you still up too? Did something happen?"

A blush had brushed the brunette's face. She scratched her head with her green-painted nails almost naturally like it had been her habit. "Uh… That… I just want to have a chat with you since it has been a while"

"I thought something had occurred to you or the others, that's why I decided to contact you back right away"

"I see… Well, I can… call you even though nothing urgent happens right? Or… I can't?"

"You certainly can! I am sorry that I haven't had time to get updated with you or the others. My packed schedule is… well, packed"

"It's alright, I understand"

"So how's your training going, Mako-chan?"

"I am doing great! I feel like I have gotten even stronger since I started. The seniors here have assisted me a lot"

"What about that one senior who once caught your interest?" Minako's dim eyes had suddenly obtained their sparks again. Being the Goddess of Love and Beauty, having a talk about the subject always got her enthusiasm.

"You mean… That bald monk?" A chuckle was released from Makoto's mouth. "He was just a one-time thing. He does not train here anymore either. Besides, I have never really felt a strong pull towards anyone anymore… But there's this one person…"

"But there's this one person…?" Looking no different from a child asking for a candy, Minako was awaiting her continuation with pleading eyes.

"Uh, forget it, Minako-chan. I am not even sure if I am in love or just a fling"

"Such a cliff-hanger! Boo!" The senshi of Venus once again rested her head on the pillow, rather hastily this time.

"Now, don't be angry there…" Makoto had sweat-dropped, but fixed a firm smile soon after. "I am sure you are tired, Minako-chan. Get some rest then. I will talk to you later"

A sulk was still apparent on Minako's face; she appeared to be still not satisfied that she could not dig some information about her friend's new love story. But the comfort of the pillow her head was buried in had once again drugged her, and her wearied physique had started giving in.

"I swear I will make you confess to me sooner or later" Her tone had come out as nerve-wrecking. "You cannot hide anything from the Goddess of Love and Beauty"

Makoto swallowed her saliva with tension, but it seemed to slip from the blonde's vision or hearing. "G- Good night then, Minako-chan"

"Good night, Mako-chan"


	6. Chapter 6 - Another

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

 **Chapter 6 - Another**

The Moon Princess had, once again, found herself lost in the ocean of new students who were flooding Meiji Gakuen for the nth time that day. It was not as easy as it had been in school, after all; back then all it took her to do was tailing her best friends around and plus, Juban high school was never that huge of a place. This university, however, was an entirely new planet for her albeit not as huge as the other campuses in the district.

There in the middle of one artery of the building she stood, with her blue eyes still on the quest of spotting her next class with the help of the map in her hands. Those eyeballs then crept a little to her watch. Five more minutes and she would be late for the course orientation. Perhaps the best solution to be done was to get some assistance from a person instead of a campus brochure.

The blonde parted eye-contact with the map before scanning the aisle she was in, filtering one or two persons whom she could probably inquire for the whereabouts of her upcoming schedule. Her choice for the task fell to a girl with short, reddish hair with thick glasses who was facing the wall magazine. Her petite figure was clad in a pink shirt and dark blue jeans. If Usagi was to answer why she picked out that girl, she was not sure either, but in her subconscious mind the resemblance between this new person and the bookworm Ami she knew was pretty strong and the two could be perfect mirror for each other if not for the hair color.

"Excuse me" She said, after squeezing in between the crowd to get a closer proximity with the said girl.

She had to wait for a few more seconds before she earned a puzzled look from the other, and by then she realized that the girl's glasses were thicker than those of Ami's.

"Me?" The red-haired replied her at last.

"Yes, um… Do you know where B-268 is? It's my next class, and I am lost"

"Is your next class 'Introduction to Japan Art History'?"

"Yes!" Usagi's smile formed instantly. "Do you happen to be looking for the same room?"

"Apparently yes"

"Great! We can walk there together! But, uhm… Have you figured out where it is?"

"Apparently yes"

"Ah, lucky!" Friendly as she had always been, the princess hooked her hand with that of her companion, and started dragging her without her approval. "Let's go! We really do not want to get in trouble on our first day, right…?"

"The name is Harumi"

"Right, Harumi-chan! Now, where is the room?"

Harumi turned out to be the only descendant of her family – a daughter of an eminent statesman, as Usagi got to know her while they passed classes after classes together. Their names were coincidentally in the same list of almost all classes except for one or two, and by the time they were sitting in the middle of hungry students in the cafeteria, the blonde began figuring out that character-wise, this new friend of her was not so alike with Ami, after all.

"So you thought that I was a bookworm like your best friend, just because of these thick glasses?" Harumi's hand immediately acted as a cover for her wide-opened mouth, trying to prevent the food from getting spat out due to her laughter.

"All people I know wearing glasses are like that" Red color had tinted Usagi's cheeks as her mouth protruded; the symptoms that the princess got every time she felt abashed.

"Just because all the people wearing glasses _you_ know are that way, doesn't mean that all people with glasses are" Having regained her composure, Harumi proceeded on chewing her kare rice. Her manner of eating would make anyone guess anything about her status but being from an opulent family, for she munched rather nonchalantly with traces of rice surrounding her lips. "Say, Usagi-chan, you have a boyfriend already?"

"Me? Yes, I do, eheheh" The blonde stirred her strawberry juice with the straw, not entirely sure if she should feel joyful or vice versa upon the topic of her far-away boyfriend being brought on the table. One thing for sure, the question had returned Mamoru back to her mind, after all the effort she had done to quarantine her brain from it.

Her clouded heart must have been reflected through her oceanic eyes, for Harumi had shifted her expression and tilted her head. "You seem rather sad about it"

"Huh? Ah, no, it's nothing" Usagi shook her head. "What about you yourself, Harumi-chan? Have you got someone?"

"Physically? Yes. Psychologically, not quite"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"I will tell you someday later, or rather, if we do get along, you will figure out by yourself" The girl with the glasses answered, and while doing that, she stood up placidly with an enigmatic aura.

It had stroke two when their last class for that day reached its end, and the blonde could be seen strolling on her way home with her eyes vacant. Harumi had headed home by car, to somewhere in a completely different route. To Usagi's surprise a dark-furred cat jumped down from nowhere and blocked her path, and soon she could see Luna before her.

"Usagi-chan" The feline smiled. "How's your first day at the new school?"

The princess' lips turned up, somehow relieved that her pet brought no bad news regarding youma whatsoever, and that she had no other intention but to inquire about the day. "It went great! I befriend a girl who is so Ami-chan! Well, not so much for her personality though…"

"Really? It's a relief, then. You had this empty expression all over your face as you were walking just now"

"Ah, I didn't even realize that" Sapphire eyeballs rolled up simultaneously, facing the sky. "Maybe I was just having this vacant feeling for walking alone once again after a long day with a lot of people"

For some moments she observed a mass of single bright cloud hiding the sun from their naked eyes. She knew Luna was awaiting her down there to make their way home together, but she could not help but to ponder over the blue horizon that gave birth to the forlorn in her heart. What could her best friends be doing under the same outstretched sky yet on so far away a land? What could her prince be doing?

"It would be really nice if we all could go home together just like the old days" The odango muttered under her breath. "Then we would all head for Hikawa or Crown and sometimes Mamo-chan would tag along"

"You still have Rei-chan, remember" Luna answered her. "Why don't we drop by Hikawa first then? You don't happen to have so much homework on your very first day, do you?"

"Luna, it is not homework anymore. It is assignment from now on"

"Well, I don't understand. A cat doesn't have to do this and that" The dark cat turned her head away, speaking in so arrogant a fashion.

"Luna, you little-" The beeping sound of her communicator was what halted her from venting out her anger to the pet. The fact that the fire-senshi was the only one staying here with her still could not hold her surprise back when it was indeed Rei who was on the screen. "Rei-chan. What is going on?"

"Where are you right now?" Rei shot her a question instead of an answer. Even from the screen Usagi could see her serious face.

"My last class has just finished and I barely get anything near home. What is it, Rei-chan?"

"I thought I could bring you along for some grocery-shopping errand" The raven-haired girl said, but her eyes were darting to her right and not on the princess.

"Doesn't that task belong to Yuuichiro?"

"He is not around, and I cannot bring grandpa for such a task because he will just end up making troubles with girls"

"Hooo so you asked me because there is no other choice of people?" Usagi's eyelids drooped in suspicion.

"I asked you because I thought you had nothing to do, baka!"

"Uh, yes… You are right, though"

"I know I'm right. I will see you at Azabu Supermarket, and don't slack off"

"Whatever is she thinking" Usagi grumbled after the withdrawal of the fire-senshi from the device screen. "Just because the others are not here doesn't mean she can make use of me to give her a hand for her errands"

"You're being too discreet" The voice of Luna reminded her that she was not without companion on the street.

"What do you mean, Luna?"

"Knowing Rei, unlike you, she is not a type who will need anyone's assistance for such simple tasks. She could go by herself for all she wants but she asked you anyway. What does that tell you?"

"Uhm…"

"It means she wants your company, and she probably knows you feel the same way. Don't you think she can feel just as lonely as you do?"

The words that escaped the feline's mouth apparently closed any possibility for a reply from the blonde. By then she had realized that she could not even respond with a 'she could have said so if she wanted me to spend time with her'. That sentence did not apply for Rei. Rei was too hard-shelled to peel her skin to show anyone her true feeling. She should have known that after 5 years of friendship, yet she did not.

"Let's get going then" Luna brought her back to the ground once more.

The evening would be a peaceful one; she thought as she stepped her feet on the ground again. They would meet the miko at the appointed place, she would end up purchasing all the sweets she did not actually need and Luna would scold her, while Rei would mock her endlessly to the point where they got into another war-of-words. It had been two weeks since the sudden shocking appearance of the terrible youma that had wounded Rei, and there had been none seen afterwards. She was pretty sure all was going well, and she needed not be anxious of all the precautions they had discussed before.

Two turns on the roads and a busy cross-section were all that it took, unfortunately, to shatter her wish for the halcyon days to continue.

"Aaaarrrgghhh!" An ear-piercing shriek was born to the air and was delivered in the speed of a lightning to their ears. Luna stopped on her track right away, and was followed by the blonde in a bat of an eye.

"What could that be!?" The cat took the initiative to alter the path on which they were walking.

Usagi tailed her closely behind and felt her heart pounding, not due to the increasing pacing of their run but more of the fear that it had something to do with youma. It could not be a youma, she thought; it took too long for the second youma to reveal itself after the first one. If someone or something was really plotting evil towards their world, surely they could not make such a slow progress as this.

Her hope was shattered to the ground, however, when they alighted at the scene of the crime that was taking place somewhere on their east, right in the middle of a dark aisle in between two buildings. The lack of light made it impossible for them to catch a perfect glimpse of either the youma or the victim, but Usagi could still make out the long hair and feminine figure of the frightened woman who was in the grip of a short, but muscled youma. In an instant she felt her knees weaken; the sensation of debilitation had touched her, for another unwelcomed moment they had been afraid of had finally occurred.

"Usagi-chan, this is terrible! Transform, quickly!" Luna's voice had grown sterner than it had originally been. "Usagi-chan?"

The cat turned her head in the intention of finding out what had held her owner back from motioning, and her eyes were revealed to the princess' features that had turned aghast.

"W- Why…" She mumbled, with unsteady tone. "Why is this happening again?"

"Usagi-chan, there is no time to be stupefied!" The dark-furred animal's eyebrows furrowed and her eyes were glistening with austere emotion.

Of course it had always been easier to say than to do, Usagi thought as her pet escorted her to a concealed spot; calming herself down at that very moment was almost the same as redeeming a raging storm. It made her feel sick, and nauseated, even, to have to pull out the brooch that would transform her into her other self – her superhero identity. It did not reach Luna's or anybody's ears obviously, but her heart was screeching out of the despair. Why was it that a long, lengthy era of peaceful life was never granted for her?

Having transfigured in her Sailor Moon form, the blonde paced up back to where the little, yet horrendous enemy had victimized its prey. The petite devil and its female target were both still there. The only difference from when they had discovered them was that the woman had lain on the cemented ground and blacked out.

"You little monster!"

The interpretation that the small evil thing was a male was obtained by the moon princess and her cat when the youma at last turned its head to their direction, with his teeth clamped and his black eyes shooting a grim glare. As if he was sparing no time for anything, the youma pushed his legs in its full power, which then enabled him to jump up high enough to land on top of the building. Sailor Moon watched with keen eyes as he instantly vanished after hopping in such a speed to another building's roof, and another.

"He is escaping!" Luna shouted after her senses made her realize of what had happened. "It is dangerous! He will find other victims!"

"What should we do then!? Follow him!?" Sailor Moon fixed her gaze at the very spot on which the youma had alighted, as if she still could witness his terrifying presence there.

"I can see no other option"

It was Luna who got her legs moving first along the bleak aisle, followed closely by the senshi behind. By the time the sunlight had made them aware of their own shadows once more, the princess took notice that she was running around the urban streets in her alter-ego form. Whether or not there were live-witnesses, she could not care less. All that was spinning in her mind was the probability of the dreadful future events caused by this new upcoming enemy.

"Sailor Moon!"

The strong, yet feminine figure of the blonde senshi halted its motion at once when the owner of the said body grasped the well-acquainted woman's voice. It was not a difficult task at all to find Sailor Mars at her right side; she was panting while approaching her in such a pace.

"Mars! You saw it!?" Sailor Moon did not quite show it, but she wished Mars knew that her presence was very much welcomed to her troubled heart. Maybe she was just too much of a scaredy-cat to face this alone, or maybe she was childish, but either way Mars' tough and sheltering aura felt more than enough for her at that moment.

"Yes, I did. I felt its inhuman air soon as I entered the area. Did you see where it went?"

Sailor Moon shook her head. "I didn't. He was too quick for us to catch"

"Can't you use your power to try to detect her, Mars?" The dark feline asked.

"I can make an attempt" The fire-senshi's point fingers naturally found their ways to her left and right side of temples, respectively, and in a moment after the princess and Luna found her eyebrows contract in full concentration.

"This way!"

In a sudden outburst of energy, Mars shot her eyes opened and launched herself dash to the right wing of the road. The extraordinary effort that Sailor Moon and the cat made to keep up with Mars' flash movements was not for nothing, for after a few miles a painful cry of a person – who was most likely the next target of their adversary, was already within the range of their hearing. As if the problem itself had not been big enough, it had to take scene on the top of a towering construction building.

"How are we going to-" Sailor Moon's question was not complete yet, but her companions had begun ascending the provided nearby stairs, which did not look so convincing to be steady enough. If she whined, though, either Luna or Mars would silence her anyway for sure.

But in the end it did not take them all the stairs to be able to meet the youma on eye level. His petite, but powerfully-built body had abruptly parachuted from somewhere above them and embarked a few stairs before them to cut them off their track, probably after having done with his previous prey upstairs. Then able to see clearly with the assistance of the sunbeam that slipped in through the holes of the construction, Sailor Moon observed the evil thing in its full figure. Her mouth slightly let out a gasp when a resemblance of a little boy was reflected from the youma. How could a demon turn a child into this monstrous shape?

"It's a little boy soul" Mars mumbled to her when their eyes met. "I can feel it"


	7. Chapter 7 - Another (part 2)

Note: Sincere thanks to those who left their reviews. I appreciate it more than you think I do. I hope this chapter is to your liking :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Another (part 2)**

"It's a little boy soul" Mars mumbled to her when their eyes met. "I can feel it"

The legs of the sailor guardians then took their fighting stance, anticipating quick movement in any second.

It did not take long, indeed, for the youma to start its attack. Its two arms shockingly extended like they were made of rubber bands, and soon found their path to Sailor Mars' neck. The fire-senshi let out an aching yelp, before contorting her face in agonize as the grip around her skin got tighter and tighter.

"Mars!" Terror had completely filled Sailor Moon's eyes, and somehow delaying her from delivering fast assistance to her comrade. From the corner of her eyes she caught Luna dashing out from where she stood and flying to one of the devilish arms, and in a moment later she heard the youma growl upon the little cat's bite.

Sailor Moon saw Mars put a delicate touch on her own neck a second after the cold, terrifying grip had left her thanks to Luna. It seemed like the devil would not spare her even a single moment to check on her best friend, however, for when she was about to approach Mars, a loud thud was heard. She then spotted her feline pet groaning on the ground.

"Dang it, it is just as fast as the one we faced previously" The fire-senshi said; one of her eyes were still wincing in pain.

Moon's sapphire eyes were fixed on the wounded Luna, but her mind was processing something else. She had to act quickly, she thought, or else this monster in front of them would hurt or even kill Mars or Luna. She did not know why, but at that moment she swore she was so desperate to banish this youma as fast as possible.

Her moon rod had come to her hold in a second, and she stood up firmly to meet the youma on eye level. "Be gone from our life! Please!"

Her effort did not even reach half of it when the said monster had flown to her so timely that she could not believe her own eyes. By the time she had the chance to blink she realized that the dark, blurry face of the evil little thing was then right in front of her by a few centimeters. She tried to evade, but it was to no avail. Her legs had wanted to cooperate, but they could not; it was as if they were locked by the terrifyingly overwhelming presence of negative energy. A short moment after her eyes witnessed one demonic arm swung speedily towards her head, her ears once again heard a loud thud, and her brain was forced to drag all her body parts to shut down.

"Sailor Moon!" Amidst her foggy sight, the voice of Mars still managed to touch her hearing. It felt like it took all of her power to simply open her eyelids, and even when they did open, everything was still covered by a half-screen. Slowly and painfully, everything then went dark.

For what it seemed like minutes to her, she seemed to be unable to recall why she was lying on freezing tiled-floor and not her bed, or why Rei had turned to Mars and was at that moment sitting in front of her with great anxiety, or why she had gone to sleep in the first place. It felt to her like she just woke up from a short, yet long rest at the same time. As her pupils began zooming in and zooming out to search their focus, the ugly events that had occurred that day finally returned to her mind one by one.

She managed to snap her eyes open at last, and her body simultaneously jolted up to sit. "Is everything okay!?"

Instead of an answer, dizziness was what she gained. Immediately, her muscles gave out again and she would collapse to the ground if it was not for Mars' hold.

"Everything's alright. Just lie down first, Sailor Moon" The fire-senshi's voice was smooth and tranquilizing, like the total opposite of her usual bold one. "It is still lurking somewhere in this building, though. We managed to escape to save you first"

"Are you alright, Mars? Luna?" She looked with intense worry at her two companions.

"I am fine, save for the scratches and some aching bones" Luna replied her back, smiling. "But really, you should put your concern on Mars instead"

"Ssshh, Luna!" An annoyed glare was thrown at the dark cat by the senshi in red fuku.

"What's wrong, Mars? Rei?" The princess alternated all her focus back to the dark-haired girl. Mars had somehow averted her caring gaze. "Mars, I am serious"

A brief sigh escaped Mars' lips. "When I said nothing is worth a concern, then nothing it is, Usagi. C'mon, we'd better find a way out of here"

"But the youma?"

"We're planning to lure it out to the open ground. It is too dangerous to fight inside such a dangerous construction building as this" Luna responded.

"Think you can stand up, Usagi?" Mars looked deeply at her.

Usagi nodded. "I think I am alright now"

The fire senshi initiated the movement first, followed by the princess. Sailor Moon could see the raven hair moving in front of her as the owner of the said hair led their way. It was dark around save for the little amount of light that was permitted to the room through the tiny ventilations on the wall, which made her realize that they might be in the deeper section of the building. The clink-clank sound of Mars' heels and the tapping from her own boots echoed all around. The high temperature did not seem to help brightening the mood up either.

For some reasons this youma just had to turn up during such a peaceful day, where she could have been doing something else with Rei just like what they had already planned. It was not that she was complaining of fighting again; it was the fear. It was the anxiety of not knowing what terrible things could happen – like you fall into deep water and you do not know whether you will resurface ever again.

She was desperately in need of someone who could convince her that she was thinking all the way wrong, that she was strong and all would be well if she believed in her heart. Mamoru – that name had always been the one passing by in times like this. She wanted to whisper that name, either because it was already an automatic habit to call his name whenever she felt fear, or because she sincerely needed him. She did not know, but her lips parted anyway.

"Mamo-chan" It almost sounded like a wind.

She did not look, but for some reasons she knew that Luna had stopped to look at her. Mars, however, had appeared as if she had not heard a single thing that the princess had spoken out as the stiletto of her heels continued knocking the floor. The two sailors and the cat then continued the walk, and it was not until they drew nearer to a big door with the exit sign above it that the fire senshi halted to contemplate.

A second after, Sailor Moon could see her companion's face turning to her and she could spot her violet eyes. What seemed to be behind those eyes, though, she was unable to decipher. Mars' stare felt to her like a juice of austerity, resentment, and disappointment.

"It's always about him, isn't it?" The fire senshi muttered. "It's him that you miss. It's him that you want to be here to protect you right now"

"No, Mars. It is not like I was…"

"Why can't you toughen up a little bit?" Mars cut her off, and how hurt she sounded almost made the princess gulp down all the words she was building in her head. "Just accept the fact that a new enemy has indeed arrived in our world, won't you? You need to be stronger, or else nobody can protect you when you are alone"

"You are saying that I am too weak to protect myself? I can protect myself enough already and I– " The statements that were flowing out just like that from her mouth had brutally died down when a booming sound of a crack on the ceiling took over the room.

"It's him!" Luna yelled.

In a flash, the three could witness the return of the same evil figure which made a rough landing on the floor. Its demonic eyes were fixed at them like it was more than ready to eat them alive. A blink and its arms suddenly stretched out from their normal size and flew speedily to where the three were frozen still. Moon widened her eyes and pushed her legs with all her might to evade the reaching dark hands. By the time her feet touched the ground again she was relieved to realize that Mars had apparently mimicked her reaction just now.

"We have to attack it fast!" Mars shouted from the other side as the arms that had just attacked them were still stuck to the wall, creating a massive crack on it.

"Okay!" The princess answered before preparing her only weapon – the rod, in her grip. She rushed herself to be ready enough to launch the attack upon noticing that the youma had taken back the outstretched arms.

"Mars Flame Sniper!"

She heard the fire-senshi casting out her attack and soon the sight of the blinding, hot beam of a fire arrow came to life. Like a tiger not wanting to lose its target, the fiery missile travelled fast all the way from where it departed to its aim.

The absence of any kind of voice or sound from the little evil thing did not make Sailor Moon less assured that Mars' weapon had indeed hit, or at least scraped the youma's dark skin. She gazed at the petite monster, awaiting signals of pain or damage from it. A moment later her assumption was proven to be true as the youma brushed its right arm lightly, but much to the senshi's horror, the attack had appeared to irritate it instead of damaging it.

She swallowed her saliva the moment the youma altered its stare from its arm to no other than her fellow senshi. What occurred next she had predicted, but she reacted a little bit too late to anticipate it and Mars did not look to be all set for it either. The devil had darted towards the fire senshi and had instantly knocked her off the ground just with a simple, yet hard smack on her head.

"Mars!" The princess' scream was filled with panic. She had only moved a few steps towards her comrade when she noticed with great terror that the youma had once again moved on from its previous prey to a new one – her.

She could then feel cold skin creeping around her upper waist and when her eyeballs rolled down, she saw the pair of cold hands touching her two sides. It all took place too quickly for her that she was not even allowed to think of a way out when she suddenly felt the floor was getting further and further down there. It dawned on her then, of what the youma was about to execute, but it was all too late for a second later she had been slammed hard back to the spot where she had been picked.

"Usagi!" Having tried to collect herself together, she could hear Mars uttering her real name.

It was a bit blurry when she regained her vision, but the dark shadowy image of the youma was still too distinctive for her to miss out. She made an attempt to stand up on her own, but dropped to the floor again in the middle of the process. She let out a gasp of fear when the dark-filled hands had touched her for one more time. Quickly, her two gloved-hands found their way to those of the enemy's, pushing them so they could go away, but her resistance seemed to be futile.

"Mars flame sniper!"

From the corner of her eyes she spotted Mars' projectile dashed out towards the youma for the second time that day. The princess then moved her focus back to the little monster and watched as the weapon hit the youma's chest, went through it, and vanished into thin air. Despite inflicting no damage whatsoever, it seemed like Mars' last attack was all that it took for the youma to reach its boiling point.

The evil hands then did put Sailor Moon down, only to be swung in such a speed towards where the fire senshi was located. Loud thud could be heard when the muscular arm whacked Mars, forcing her body to clash violently with the wall. With all the energy left in her body Sailor Moon managed to erect and she was welcomed with the sight of her comrade's body plummeting slowly to the tiled floor.

"I cannot stand this anymore!" Luna cried out from somewhere in the middle of the scene, and soon her tiny figure could be seen darting to their adversary. Focusing her gaze, the princess could see the cat on the top of the youma's back; she was putting her claws in good use by clinging to the skin of the enemy and was trying to deliver however small injury she could to the devil. "Sailor Moon! Check on Mars!"

She waited for a few seconds before she finally commenced on what Luna commanded her to do. She was, of course, concerned about the little feline as well, but if she froze on her spot instead of doing any action she would make Luna's effort go for nothing. So off she ran hastily to where Mars was still laid motionless; her face was kissing the ground and her bangs were hiding her eyes from the princess.

"Mars!"

The smooth surface of her glove gently caressed the face of the fire senshi while the owner of the glove waited anxiously for any sign of life from her friend. The twitching of Mars' eyes was what eased her worry, and a moment later those violet eyes opened up weakly.

"Are you alright?" were the first words that came out of the fire-senshi's lips.

"I am, don't worry about me. Are you hurt, Mars?"

"I… No, I am okay" The fire-senshi then put her weight on her elbows. Trying to put herself to a kneeling position she then made the effort to pull one of her legs, but the attempt did not even last for seconds when her body descended again. What raised the princess' concern was the painful groan she produced after that.

"Mars! Are you really okay!? Please just tell me if you're hurt. Please just be honest and don't pretend all the time" Moon looked at Mars attentively. Even when she could hear the youma's growl and Luna's high-pitched grunt in the background, her attention to Mars was undivided.

The fire-senshi, though, refused to reply her intense stare by closing her eyelids again. There was this kind of expression on Mars' face, and Moon wondered if she had wounded Mars' pride in some ways. A while later, however, that resentful look of hers had dissolved into a tender one.

"I think it managed to injure my waist" She said.

"Just now? How come?"

The fire senshi shook her head. "When you passed out earlier. But now it's growing worse because of that slam on the wall"

"God, why didn't you tell me, Mars!? Why did you have to keep it to yourself!?"

"It doesn't matter" Mars coldly brushed her off. "What matters now is to think of how to defeat this enemy"

Sailor Moon was silent, but it was not the way to repulse this youma that was on her mind. It was the fact that it had been the second time Mars got hurt because of her again. Yes, she was hurt again. If this continued, if they would indeed be facing a new set of terrifyingly strong monsters such as this one again, it was not totally impossible that Mars could get killed just to protect her. Should they just let the others know about what was happening? But…

"Aaargh!"

Luna's cry was what slapped her back to reality, to what was more necessary to be done right at that moment. She altered her attention to the battle scene; Luna was struggling to stand on her four legs despite the fresh scars all over her body, and the youma appeared more than ready to kill her right at that second.

Eyes were set and legs assisted her to stand up. Determined, Sailor Moon called the rod back to her hold and turned her physique to face the direction of her target. She did not care if she had to unleash all of her power at that moment if she could turn everything back to normal – back to their halcyon period.

"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"

She felt a bright, overwhelming energy surging out from her body. She felt determination that was much more solid bursting out as she released the illuminating gleam from her weapon. Maybe it was the anger that she was suffering, maybe it was fear, but either way it triggered everything in her to banish this youma from existence.

"Go away!" She yelled while tears started trickling down from the corner of her eyes. "Go away and don't ever hurt Mars again! Don't hurt anyone ever again! Don't disturb our peaceful life!"

With that, she felt that everything that had already come out strong from her just grew even more powerful. The blinding pink light had filled the whole room by the time the little evil made a trial to protect itself from destruction by covering its face with its palms. Both parties were standing strong, each with their virtuous and dark power respectively. Sailor Moon realized that she had been pushed a few meters behind by the force, but her legs rejected to give out as she stood firm and her grip on the rod tightened.

In a sudden moment of outburst she made a decision to let everything out. The warm beams of pinkish light had evolved bigger to a sphere, making the big room pregnant of it. Tiled floors had cracked and were broken into pieces. She could not see anything anymore – not of the youma, not of Luna, and not of Mars. It was as if she even no longer had control over her own body and she was letting the energy flow out freely out of her like a river. Flowing and flowing, until she felt like none of it was left inside her body.


End file.
